Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-06
Eject of thc Tobacco-Tax on Park"
Tobacco.


Inyour sunday paper there was a let
ter from Mn Paul G. Venable taking
issue with Professor Puryear on the
question of injury from taxation to the
tobacco industry in the counties which
do not grow bright tobacco. In my
humble opinion Mr.. VeHable is wrong
and Professor Puryear is right. / was
born and raised in that portion OF Buck
ingham county traversed by iron veins.
The soil. when not tinted by oxide OF
iron, is gray; it is an old sandstone
formation. decidedly micacious and
light, at the same time containing a
good deal of felspathic rock. From the
nature of this soil, wheat and the grasses
are liable to injury from the " stewing
of the ground after winter-freezes, and
also from "thirst in long dry sum
mer seasons. But the very fact that
the land is light and open adapts it well
10 the cultivation and to the vigorous
growth of tobacco, and what Is here
said may, with some local notifications,
be also said as to Appomattox, Char
lotte. Prince Edward, Cumberland, and
Powhatan. The nutritive properties OF
these soils stimulate the tobacco-plant
into development of coarser fibre
andmore body thanthe bright y to-
haccO. 1t is true that in commercial use
a larger per cent. OF this tobacco was
bought. ever in former years, for
" shipping than for manufacturing
purposes. But what is, IT shipped
Tor? Why. to he manufactured and
chewsd or smoked abroad, of course.
Why was it shipped abroad to be manu-
featured rather than manufactured at
home? Well, these are the reasons |
have always heard assigned-viz: That
owing to the high tax (about 1000 per
cent. or prime cost here) imposed by
the English Government, and the
"regie" monopoly in France and
other continental countries, it was
desirable to get tobacco very coarse
in grain and very strong Ill substance,
so as to absorb a large quantity of
water and other cheap infusions, and
still have strength enough left to satisfy
the consumer. But whether he was
satisfied or not, it was all he could get.
In the absence of such monopoly here,
and to meet the taste of consumers
in America, nine tenths of whom lived
in milder climate than England and
continental Europe, the home manu-
factnrers could do better buying mp
and manufacturing a tobacco of poorer
quality, if il looked neat and had
good flavor, than to buy the
HEAVY, STRONG SHIPPING TOBACCO
in competition with Europe, and then
weaken it down by adulteration. The
consumer here has his choice of all
grades and favors of tobacco. Now,
from my boyhoOd To the outbreak OF
the war in 1860, / had never known
any one up in my old community to
admit that any chewing or smoking to-
bacco on earth could equal "old sun
cured new-ground Jugs raised in Buck
ingham herself. For it is by no means
true that all the tobacco raised in Buck
ingham-or, l may say, raised on any
one farm in Buckingham-came up in
size and body to the quality of ENG
lish shipping" Our tobacco, when it
went abroad, generally went to England.
1t is usually assorted at the barns in
three classes-"lugs," "short," and
"long." When the war broke out
there were in the town of Farmville, in
Prince Edward county, l think, four
thriving tobacco-factories all working
ND tobacco grown in that section.
Much of the tobacco of each of the
three grades above described, not being
long enough and strong enough for
shipment, was light enough and sweet
favored enough to suit our home con-
sumption, and went into manufacture.
The late Mr.. Patrick Fl. Jackson, Of
Farmville, told me, as a joke that he
enjoyed very much, that one year he
bought up all the thin or "p0or lugs
brought TO that market and put up
cheap twist for consumers who couldn't
afford dear article and shipped the
goods to Boston. After many weeks
delay his consignee wrote him very
apologize aud Responding letter, say
ing that he greatly feared he could do
nothing with the consignment, for,
after exhauJing every effort, he could
why SNl a. VINO " pObl'N OhSANN" -ut'
Jackson by return of post replied:
"Close at once at II cents; it gives a
handsome profit" The fact is, before
the internal tax was imposed we had
TWO DEMANDS
for our tobacco, even though it was
OZARK :" the coarse, strong tobacco
went abroad, the light, sweet tobacco
was manufactured and consumed at
home. Thus We had demand for all
we made, and often averaged ten cents
a pound for the whole crop. That was
but very moderate profit, for the best
informed producers of dark tobacco
put the cost on light soils at eight cents
pound, and on the best soils at six
cents a pound. And the very well-in-
formed statistican who wrote up the
tobacco subject for the United States
census reports of 1880 has reached
about the same conclusion. Very sell
dom since 1865 has the average been